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Postwatch
The New National Consumer Council, operating as Consumer Futures, was a non-departmental public body and statutory consumer organisation in England, Wales, Scotland, and, for postal services, Northern Ireland. It was established by the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, and began operations in 2008 by the merging of Postwatch, Energywatch and the Welsh, Scottish and National Consumer Councils under the Consumer Focus brand. Following the UK Government's 2010 Spending Review, funding from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) for Consumer Focus was redirected to the Citizens Advice Bureau service, and in May 2013 Consumer Focus was renamed Consumer Futures. It was abolished as a non-departmental public body on 1 April 2014, when it was merged into Citizens Advice. History The National Consumer Council was established by the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, which merged Postwatch, Energywatch and the Welsh, Scottish and National Con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Mail
Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels). Formed in 2001, the company used the name Consignia for a brief period but changed it soon afterwards. Prior to this date, Royal Mail and Parcelforce were (along with Post Office Counters Ltd) part of the Post Office, a UK state-owned enterprise the history of which is summarised below. Long before it came to be a company name, the 'Royal Mail' brand had been used by the General Post Office to identify its distribution network (which over the centuries included horse-drawn mail coaches, horse carts and hand carts, ships, trains, vans, motorcycle combinations and aircraft). The company provides mail collection and delivery services throughout the UK. Letters and parcels are deposited in post or parcel boxes, or are collected in bul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consumer Organisation
Consumer organizations are advocacy groups that seek to protect people from corporate abuse like unsafe products, predatory lending, false advertising, astroturfing and pollution. Consumer Organizations may operate via protests, litigation, campaigning, or lobbying. They may engage in single-issue advocacy (e.g., the British Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), which campaigned against keg beer and for cask ale) or they may set themselves up as more general consumer watchdogs, such as the Consumers' Association in the UK. One common means of providing consumers useful information is the independent comparative survey or test of products or services, involving different manufacturers or companies (e.g., ''Which?'', ''Consumer Reports'', etc.). Another arena where consumer organizations have operated is food safety. The needs for campaigning in this area are less easy to reconcile with their traditional methods, since the scientific, dietary or medical evidence is normally more comple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Postal Services Act 2000
The Postal Services Act 2000 (c. 26) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relating to the postal industry. It established an industry regulator, Postcomm (s.1), a consumer watchdog, Postwatch (s.2), required a "universal service" of post to be provided (ss.3-4) and set up rules for licensing postal services operators (ss.6-41). It also converted the public branch of the postal industry, the Post Office, from a statutory corporation to a public limited company, wholly owned by the government. Background Second Reading of the bill, and debate, introduced by Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Stephen Byers. Parliamentary Undersecretary Alan Johnson summed up the bill before the vote. Liberalisation The Postal Services Regulations 1999SI 1999/2107 The Postal Services (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, r.8 Section 11 allows PostComm to grant licences that would otherwise contravene section 6(1), the general prohibition on conveying a letter from one pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super-complaint
A super-complaint is a complaint made in the UK by a state-approved "super-complainant" or watchdog organisation on behalf of consumers, which was fast-tracked to a higher authority such as the Office of Fair Trading (prior to its dissolution on 1 April 2014). The official body now responsible for dealing with general consumer protection super-complaints is the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). A super-complaint, as defined in section 11(1) of the UK's Enterprise Act 2002, is a complaint submitted by a designated consumer body stating that "any feature, or combination of features, of a market in the UK for goods or services is or appears to be significantly harming the interests of consumers". Super-complaints have also specifically been introduced for the financial markets in the UK under the aegis of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) provides that certain consumer bodies may complain to the FCA about features of a mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vince Cable
Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham (UK Parliament constituency), Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. He also served in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade from 2010 to 2015. Cable studied natural science and economics at University of Cambridge, Cambridge, and after graduation was an ODI Fellow working as a finance officer in the Kenya Treasury under President Jomo Kenyatta. He then lectured in economics at Glasgow University and obtained a PhD studying part-time. He worked in the Diplomatic Service; directed research at the ODI; was a Special Adviser to the Commonwealth Secretary-General; headed the international economics programme at Chatham House; and worked for Shell Group Planning, beco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Office Of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic regulator. The intention was for the OFT to make markets work well for consumers, ensuring vigorous competition between fair-dealing businesses and prohibiting unfair practices such as rogue trading, scams, and cartels. Its role was modified and its powers changed by the Enterprise Act 2002. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced reforms to the consumer protection and competition regimes. Under the provisions of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was established on 1 April 2014, combining many of the functions of the OFT and the Competition Commission and superseding both. Regulation of the consumer credit sector passed from the OFT to the new Financial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department For Business, Enterprise And Regulatory Reform
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and was itself disbanded on 6 June 2009 on the creation of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. BERR had a wide range of responsibilities. The main areas covered were essentially those previously covered by the DTI: company law, trade, energy, business growth, employment law, regional economic development and consumer law. The principal machinery of government changes affecting the department on creation were the removal of the Office of Science and Innovation to the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the arrival of the Better Regulation Executive from the Cabinet Office. Subsequently, in October 2008, responsibility for Energy p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department Of Trade And Industry (United Kingdom)
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was a United Kingdom government department formed on 19 October 1970. It was replaced with the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 28 June 2007. History The department was formed on 19 October 1970 through the merger of the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Technology, creating a new cabinet post of Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Additionally, the department also took over the Department of Employment's former responsibilities for monopolies and mergers. However, in January 1974, the department's responsibilities for energy production were transferred to a newly created Department of Energy. On 5 March that year, following a Labour Party victory in the February 1974 general election, the department was split into the Department of Trade, the Department of Industry and the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consumer Direct
Consumer Direct was a Government-funded call centre providing basic consumer advice in the United Kingdom. Information was also provided on their website (see below). Following a review by government in 2010, Consumer Direct ceased to operate in March 2012 with its role being handed to the Citizens Advice consumer service. The new service operates using the same telephone number and provides the same level of advice as Consumer Direct did. Consumer Direct's intention was to make such basic advice available to everyone regardless of the area in which they live. Previously, provision of consumer advice services varied, with some local Councils operating extensive services with several staff; and others relying on other local advice services such as the Citizens Advice Bureau Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
OFGEM
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas). Ofgem's governing body is the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA), which is also referred to as the Ofgem board. Powers and duties The authority's powers and duties are largely provided for in statute (such as the Gas Act 1986, the Electricity Act 1989, the Utilities Act 2000, the Competition Act 1998, the Enterprise Act 2002 and the Energy Act 2004, the Energy Act 2008 and the Energy Act 2010) as well as arising from directly effective European Union legislation. Duties and functions concerning gas are set out in the Gas Act and those relating to electricity are set out in the Electricity Act. Its primary duty is to protect the interests of consumers, where possible by promoting competition. The Authorit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allan Asher
Allan James Asher (born February 16, 1951) is an Australian lawyer, consumer advocate and campaigner. Early life, education and personal life Asher was born in Sydney on 16 February 1951, one of eight children. He grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney at Eastern Creek. He attended Eastern Creek Primary School and later Rooty Hill High School. After completing high school Asher attended Sydney Technical College (now Ultimo TAFE) to re-do his Higher School Certificate. He studied economics and accounting at the University of New South Wales, and then law at Sydney University. In 2012 Asher took up a post as a Visitor at the Australian National University, Canberra. Early career Asher's first job was as an audit clerk at an accounting firm. From 1974 to 1984, Asher was a Senior Executive with the Australian Consumers Association (ACA). In 1984, Asher became the Director of Corporate Affairs with the Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC). Australian Competition an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utilities Act 2000
The Utilities Act 2000 (c. 27) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that deals with the gas and electrical markets in the UK. It mainly modified the Gas Act 1986, the Gas Act 1995 and Electricity Act 1989. One of the greatest changes was that integrated electricity companies were required to have separate licences for each of their businesses such as supply or distribution. The act was originally supposed to deal with water and telecoms as well, but following industry pressure they were dropped. Section 105 of the Act is intended to protect national security; it prohibits the disclosure of certain types of information relevant to the energy sector, with penalties of fines and up to two years' imprisonment for breaches. The section has been used by Ofgem to threaten whistleblowers informing their managers and the National Audit Office of misspends of millions of pounds. The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the law contravened the European Convention on Human ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
